The present embodiments relate to medical diagnostic imaging. In particular, multi-planar reconstructions of a volume representing a patient are shown.
Ultrasound or other medical imaging modalities may be used to scan a patient. For example, echocardiography is a commonly used imaging modality to visualize the structure of the heart with a multi-planar reconstruction (MPR). MPR shows images of specific planes through a 3-dimensional volume. Because the echo is often a 2D projection of the 3D human heart, standard views are captured to better visualize the cardiac structures. For example, in the apical four-chamber (A4C) view, all four cavities, namely left and right ventricles, and left and right atria, are present. In the apical two-chamber (A2C) view, only the left ventricle and the left atrium are present. Another example is imaging the intracranial structures of a fetus. Three standard planes are acquired with different orientations for visualization of the cerebellum, the cisterna magna, and lateral ventricles. The user may adjust the planar positions of the MPR to be different from the standard views or to locate the standard views.
Users, especially novice users, often have a difficult time understanding the relative orientations and positions of MPR images. Improving user understanding of MPR images is important because users are usually more comfortable with the 2D-like MPR images than with less-familiar looking volume rendered images. To assist in the understanding of the spatial relationships between MPR images, colored lines are displayed on each MPR image to show where the MPRs intersect one another. Another approach is to replace a volume rendered image with a three-dimensional (3D) MPR display in which the MPR images are rendered together in the relative orientations and positions. However, these approaches may not provide sufficient information, since the position relative to the patient is difficult to extrapolate. When switching from one MPR arrangement to another, the relative positions change. The jump between relative positions may further diminish the user's ability to understand the relative orientations and positions.